“Junk Guns” Cause for Concern in Sydney, Australia

DIY, homemade guns are showing up on the streets of Australia.

Made from what most of us consider junk in the garage and held together with zip ties, “junk guns” continue to grow in popularity (and danger) in Sydney, Australia accounting for approximately 10 percent of seized firearms.

Most popular among teenage boys and bike gangs, these do-it-yourself guns can be made with objects all found at a hardware store, and instructions are easily accessible via the Internet.

Kesten Green of the University of South Australia, explains that the economics behind making guns made sense as far as criminals were concerned. It’s much easier to make a “junk gun” than it is to have manufactured guns imported.

“I would imagine the cost of making them would be relatively low,” Green said.

These guns are not only a danger to those standing in front of them, but also to those holding them. Mick Plotecki, Firearms Squad commander, told The Daily Telegraph, “Most of them are very unsafe weapons, they can blow up in your hand.”

DailyTelegraph.com

Don’t let their rickety appearance fool you. Despite being made of everyday materials, it still only takes one shot to cause as much devastation as a store-bought gun. “They are only sing-shot pen pistols but one shot is enough. One shot can kill somebody,” Plotecki said.

The issue with these guns, is that they are cheap to maker, easy to conceal, and quick to sell. This presents future concern for both criminals and extremists, although there has been no evidence found regarding said extremists.

Plotecki said, “There is no evidence of that but the community should be aware of them.”